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美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Love Poems For Married People' Will Help Spice Things Up In The— Zzzzz

时间:2019-02-11 06:54来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The world is full of romantic poems that are made for Valentine's Day, sonnets1 about first love, haikus about a beautiful stranger. The writer John Kenney saw a gap in this market, and so we now have his new collection called "Love Poems For Married People." I asked him to read us a sample. This one is titled "Are You In The Mood?"

JOHN KENNEY: (Reading) Are you in the mood? I am. Let's put the kids down, have a light dinner, shower, maybe not drink so much and do that thing I would rather do with you than anyone else - lie in bed and look at our iPhones.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) John Kenney, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

KENNEY: Thank you. It's really nice to be here.

SHAPIRO: This book started as a humor column in The New Yorker. Where did the idea for that column come from?

KENNEY: It was closing in on Valentine's Day, and I don't know. I wrote this out sort of quickly - you know, 700, 800 words - and submitted it to my friends over there, and they were kind enough to print it.

SHAPIRO: And I take it you were kind of overwhelmed2 by the response to it.

KENNEY: It got a pretty good response. And over the past couple of years, it tends to trend a little bit around Valentine's Day, so that's kind of fun because I get millions and millions of dollars in residuals3.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

KENNEY: I mean, you know - I mean, poetry - if you want to make...

SHAPIRO: Make a quick buck4 off poetry, yeah.

KENNEY: Yeah, no, that's the thing.

SHAPIRO: Yeah. Will you read another one of these for us? This is "Bedtime."

KENNEY: (Reading) Bedtime - now we are in the bedroom in our underpants. Let's turn the lights down - no, further. Off, I guess, is the technical term. Maybe try a towel under the door where that sliver5 of light is coming in. What if we cuddle, and by cuddle I mean not actually touch, each of us at the far edge of our own side of the bed. Why do I feel like this is a twin bed? You're so close. I have a fun, sexy idea. Let's close our eyes and see who can keep them closed the longest for the next, like, seven hours or so. I like you.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) That's John Kenney reading from his collection "Love Poems For Married People." I love that last line, I like you.

KENNEY: Well, it's a direct quote from my wife on last Valentine's Day. It was her signature on the on the card she gave me.

SHAPIRO: So she has a sense of humor about this.

KENNEY: She is an amazing person, and the collection started - like all of my great ideas, it was someone else's idea. I was at a publishing party last June at Penguin6 Random7 House, and one of the execs there suggested that we do a book. I thought she was kidding, but they weren't. And I had about six weeks to do it. And I would write and write and write, and I would share them with my wife, who is a great writer and editor herself and, you know, would stand by like a small dog and wait for her to laugh. Oftentimes that did not happen. So we nixed those poems, so - but I can't say enough about her help in doing this book.

SHAPIRO: Was there anything that she said, oh, God, please don't put that in writing; please don't put that into the book?

KENNEY: Oh, a lot, like the word underpants.

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

KENNEY: There is one...

SHAPIRO: It's not the sexiest word for an undergarment.

KENNEY: No. You know, that's why when you - when it comes to romance8, you want to turn to a middle-aged9 straight, white man because we sort of - I think we've cornered the market on romance.

SHAPIRO: Because you describe yourself as a straight, white man, I have to disclose10 I am long married. My husband and I do not have kids. And so there is a poem in this book that kind of spoke11 directly to me from maybe not the perspective you intended.

KENNEY: I bet it's "I Ask My Co-worker Tim."

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) It is.

KENNEY: So the title of this poem is "I Ask My Co-Worker Tim, Who Doesn't Have Children, How His Weekend Was." (Reading) Amazing, he says, eyes wide. It was amazing - just me and Michael. We slept in, got coffee at that new place in the Village. Have you been, no? Then we strolled12 through Central Park, wandered over to the Goya show at the Met - incredible13. Have you been, no? Rode Citi Bikes to Coney Island, had pizza at Di Fara's. Have you eaten there, no? I thought you lived in Brooklyn. Then on a whim14, we bought scalper tickets for "Hamilton." Have you seen it, no - really, wow. We walked over the 59 Street Bridge and watched the sun come up. Then we went home and slept till noon. How was your weekend? Well, Tim, we went to a kid's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and made inane15 small talk with other parents we have nothing in common with. Have you been, no - amazing.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) How did Tim respond to this?

KENNEY: Tim LeGallo, one of my favorite people, was thrilled. And he said, yeah, that's all true. That was our last weekend.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: This book takes a turn in the final pages. The last poem is called "To Lissa. No Kidding." I think it's the longest poem in the book, so I'm not going to ask you to read it. But will you tell us about it?

KENNEY: It was one of the last poems I wrote, and I hesitated about whether to include it. But my wife and I have been together for - I don't know - 14 years, I think. Although as she says, it feels like 20.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

KENNEY: We have two amazing kids. She's just a rock and seen me through lots of tough times. And so I thought, well, I should write a funny poem for her, but everything I started putting down wasn't so funny. It was actual emotion, which is something of a challenge for me. I really - I wanted to write something honest for her, and I showed it to her right before publication. And she said, that's the best you can do?

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) Oh, no, really?

KENNEY: I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

SHAPIRO: No, no.

KENNEY: She was like, yeah, no, that's sweet. Did you get milk?

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

KENNEY: She was very grateful. She was very touched.

SHAPIRO: Marriage.

KENNEY: Marriage.

SHAPIRO: John Kenney, thanks so much, and happy almost Valentine's Day.

KENNEY: Thank you, Ari. Happy Valentine's Day to you.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sonnets a9ed1ef262e5145f7cf43578fe144e00     
n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Keats' reputation as a great poet rests largely upon the odes and the later sonnets. 作为一个伟大的诗人,济慈的声誉大部分建立在他写的长诗和后期的十四行诗上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He referred to the manuscript circulation of the sonnets. 他谈到了十四行诗手稿的流行情况。 来自辞典例句
2 overwhelmed c1467d93c32e826b8d6282fc91bbd0d1     
[ overwhelm ]的过去式
参考例句:
  • She was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. 她感到愧疚难当。
  • If (one was) overwhelmed by passion, it could lead to serious blunders. 当感情完全淹没理智时,就可能铸成大错。
3 residuals 270200161b3bbba2fe68484807e329e4     
剩余误差
参考例句:
  • In some cases residuals from these arrivals will stack up to give nearly horizontal alignments. 在某些情况下,这些波至的残余会叠加在一起给出近于水平的同相轴。
  • Strong oscillations can occur in the residuals as the number of terms is increased. 随着次数的增加,剩余时差会发生强烈的摆动。
4 buck ESky8     
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃
参考例句:
  • The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
  • The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。
5 sliver sxFwA     
n.裂片,细片,梳毛;v.纵切,切成长片,剖开
参考例句:
  • There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
  • Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上,莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。
6 penguin W3jzf     
n.企鹅
参考例句:
  • The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
  • He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。
7 random HT9xd     
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句:
  • The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
8 romance KXGx1     
n.恋爱关系,浪漫气氛,爱情小说,传奇
参考例句:
  • She wrote a romance about an artist's life in Tokyo.她写了一个关于一位艺术家在东京生活的浪漫故事。
  • They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.他们试图重燃爱火。
9 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
10 disclose DuUxK     
vt.揭露,泄露,透露
参考例句:
  • Science can disclose the mysteries of nature.科学能解开自然界的奥秘。
  • Neither side would disclose details of the transaction.双方均不肯披露交易细节。
11 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
12 strolled 10b0ab683f076d7593871dcd48c0b2b6     
散步(stroll的过去式形式)
参考例句:
  • They strolled through the park, with arms entwined. 他们挽着胳膊漫步穿过公园。
  • They strolled down to the waterside. 他们漫步向水边走去。
13 incredible q8fx7     
adj.难以置信的,不可信的,极好的,大量的
参考例句:
  • Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
  • Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。
14 whim 2gywE     
n.一时的兴致,突然的念头;奇想,幻想
参考例句:
  • I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
  • He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。
15 inane T4mye     
adj.空虚的,愚蠢的,空洞的
参考例句:
  • She started asking me inane questions.她开始问我愚蠢的问题。
  • Such comments are inane because they don't help us solve our problem.这种评论纯属空洞之词,不能帮助我们解决问题。
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TAG标签:   NPR  美国国家电台  英语听力
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